France pledges $108M aid package to Lebanon

French President Emmanuel Macron pledged 100 million euro ($108 million) in aid to Lebanon during a conference in Paris on Thursday, as Israel continued bombarding the county. 

"In the immediate term, massive aid is needed for the Lebanese population, both for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the war and for the communities hosting them," Macron said.

"The war must end as soon as possible," the leader said, while criticising Israel's operations in southern Lebanon. 

Lebanese caretake Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, and Brigadier General Youssef Haddad, were in Paris on Thursday to push for a ceasefire. 

Seventy government delegations and 15 international organisations are also in Paris aiming to raise at least 500 million euros ($540 million) in humanitarian aid and push for a ceasefire. US government representatives were not present.

France is also pushing for Lebanon to restore its sovereignty and strengthen its institutions. The country has been without a president for two years as political groups failed to agree on a new one. 

International support would be needed to build up the Lebanese army's capabilities and rebuild the country's infrastructure, the Lebanese PM said. 

Mikati added the country is recruiting more troops and could deploy 8,000 soldiers as part of a plan to implement a ceasefire and UN Resolution 1701, which calls for the presence of Lebanese and UNIFIL forces south of the Litani River near the Israeli border. 

Macron said there would not be a return to the past in Lebanon and that a UN Security Council resolution that had failed to keep the peace would need to be fully implemented. 

Mikati said 13 hospitals in Lebanon have been put out of service due to Israeli attacks. 

Earlier today, an Israeli strike killed three Lebanese troops in south Lebanon. The Lebanese soldiers were killed as they were evacuating wounded people on the outskirts of southern village of Yater, the Lebanese army said. There was no immediate comment on the strike from the Israeli military, which has previously said it is not operating against the Lebanese army.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Israeli counterpart on Wednesday that Washington had concerns about strikes against the Lebanese armed forces while urging Israel to take steps to ensure the safety of the Lebanese army and the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, the Pentagon said. 

The Israeli airforce had "struck over 160 Hezbollah terror targets, including launchers and terrorist infrastructure sites throughout Lebanon", the Israeli military said.

It added 52 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Israel and southern Lebanon. At least 25 have been killed since the start of the ground operation three weeks ago.